Chapter 18 #2
“I was home. Sleeping.” Technically true, if I omit the confrontation with my masked watcher.
“Anyone who can verify that?”
“Are you seriously asking me that, Karen? While I’m not helpless, I weigh one hundred thirty-eight pounds. Raymond Davis weighed two hundred, easy. Do you really think I could kill him and drag him up to a trailhead at Emerald Lake?”
“No. But the last time you and Raymond Davis were seen together, you threatened him with bodily harm if you ever saw him again for what he did to those horses.”
Heat flashes across my cheeks. I’d lost it that day, yelling at him while county animal services loaded his horses into our trailer.
The memory makes me cringe. It’s exactly why they don’t ask me to assist with pickups when owners are present anymore.
Now, they just call to tell me they’re bringing an animal in.
“Karen, come on. It’s the same thing as Daryl Rawlings. Words said in the heat of the moment. You don’t seriously think I meant them?”
“Again, no, Luna, but I have to ask. So, can anyone verify where you were this morning between midnight and four?”
I point to Shadow, curled up in a bed in the corner. “I was alone except for four animals who lack the power of speech.”
Karen sighs, tucking the evidence bag away. “Luna, I’ve known you almost your whole life. I know you’re not capable of this kind of violence. But in light of the other bodies found here, and that note…” She shakes her head. “It makes you involved, whether you want to be or not.”
“This is ludicrous. I didn’t kill him, Karen.”
“I believe you. But someone with knowledge about you and the animals you treat has made this personal.” Karen’s shrewd eyes study my face. “Are you sure you haven’t noticed anything unusual lately? Anyone paying too much attention to the sanctuary or to you?”
My watcher’s masked face invades my thoughts. He said those bodies were gifts for me. I demanded that he stop dropping them on my doorstep. So, was this his pivot? Dumping the bodies elsewhere?
But how could he have killed Raymond Davis last night when he was here? Did he have Raymond’s body with him? Had he already killed him? Or did he do it after he left me trembling on my porch?
Shit! What time did he come by?
“Luna?” Karen’s impatient voice draws me back to her question.
“No.” It’s frightening how easily that word slips off my tongue. I’m grateful Maren stayed with Ghost. She would have spilled everything by now. “Nothing unusual.”
“There’s a level of expertise involved in this. Not only the killings themselves, but also transporting the bodies. And the scenes are meticulous. No DNA to be found anywhere. We’re dealing with someone dangerous. Someone who’s done this before.”
A chill runs down my spine. No kidding.
“What are you saying?”
Karen touches my arm. “I’m saying be careful. There’s no telling what he might do. Or who he might kill next. We have no leads, Luna, and I’m worried about you. Your safety.”
I head to my office after Karen leaves and close the door, needing a few minutes alone to clear my head.
I sink into my chair and pick up the mortgage and student loan statements, running my finger over the beautiful zeros.
The relief hits me in waves so strong it makes my eyes burn.
The weight that has been crushing me has lifted for the first time in years.
But who did this and why?
My watcher kills for me. Someone else pays my debts. What kind of life have I stumbled into where anonymous strangers are orchestrating such dramatic interventions?
I set the statements down with shaking fingers. The gratitude is there, warm and overwhelming, but it’s tangled with fear and confusion. Someone out there, someone I’ve never met, cared enough to lift this burden from me. The thought is both humbling and terrifying.
I lean back in my chair, my thoughts spinning between the mysterious payments, Raymond Davis, and the masked watcher who’s taken up residence in my head. He killed Davis. I know it in my bones. And last night, I surrendered to his touch.
Later that night, after all my resident animals are fed and settled in, I curl up on the sofa in the living room, with Shadow at my feet, drinking a cup of tea. No more wine for me for a while.
Maren wanted to stay with me again after the news about Raymond Davis, but I made her go home because JT’s only in town for a few days.
But there’s a chilling unease about being here alone now that my watcher has revealed himself and promised to return.
Damien Wolfe’s business card sits on the coffee table in front of me. With a sigh, I pick up my phone and dial the number.
A smooth, deep voice answers on the second ring. “Wolfe.”
I hesitate. “I—um… I’m calling about security services.”
“I see.” His tone shifts, becoming more attentive. “May I ask who’s calling?”
“Luna Foster. I run Sage & Summit Wildlife Sanctuary north of Aspen Ridge. We’re neighbors.”
A pause, then a warmer, friendlier voice comes through the phone. “Yes, I’ve heard of you, Dr. Foster. Eleanor at the post office is quite fond of you.”
I shift in my seat. Of course, Eleanor mentioned me to him. “She gave me your card. I’ve had some incidents on my property recently.”
“I’m familiar with the reports. Three bodies discovered in the past week.”
I tense. “How do you know?”
“I watch the news. And I make it my business to know what happens where I live. Security is about anticipating problems, not just reacting to them.”
I can’t decide whether that’s reassuring or disturbing. “Can you help or not?”
“I can offer a consultation tomorrow. 9 AM?”
“Can we make it 11? I have morning rounds with the animals.”
“11 AM it is.” Another pause. “And Dr. Foster? Perhaps keep your doors locked tonight. You never know who might be lurking in the woods around your property.”
The line goes dead before I can respond.
What the hell?
I stare at my phone, unsettled by his words, which echo Karen’s earlier warnings. I need to shake this off. I’ve always been safe in my home. There’s no reason for me to feel unsafe now.
Except for the steady stream of corpses tied to my sanctuary.
And the masked man stalking and watching me from the woods, who also just happens to be the killer.